Hands On: Google’s Nexus 5 Says Hello to the Nexus 5X

The Nexus line of devices has seen a number of different manufacturers take on the role of delivering new hardware each year, with HTC starting things off – and returning with the Nexus 9 tablet last year – Samsung had a stint with the Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus and LG is back with their third Nexus, joining newcomer Huawei and the Nexus 6P. LG was not fans’ original favorite when the Nexus 4 launched, but with their follow-up the Nexus 5, LG had hit the jackpot. Now, the Nexus 5 is back, with a new letter at the end of its name and fresh hardware to boot, but how do the two devices stack up next to each other? Well, we bought our trusty friend with us to answer just that question.

Right away it’s clear that the 5X is an evolution of the Nexus 5, rather than a reimagining of LG’s 2013 effort. With a 5.2-inch display versus the original’s 5.0-inch display, the 5X is a little taller, but it’s only a little wider and for the most part feels the same size in the hand. The camera placement has moved, and the curious little dot speaker has been replaced with front-facing stereo speakers in the same grill design and placement Motorola introduced with the Nexus 6 last year. The displays stay at 1080p resolution, but under the hood the two processors couldn’t be more different, the Snapdragon 800 in the Nexus 5 is starting to show its age now, while the Snapdragon 808 is 64-bit and has two more processing cores, delivering better performance overall.

The camera is where those looking to upgrade will notice the biggest difference, it’s been bumped from 8.0-megapixels to 12.3-megapixels, but it’s a new Sony imaging sensor that’s larger than the majority of sensor in flagships from any manufacturer. Below, we’ve compared the hardware of the new and old in a little gallery for those nostalgic types to go over, and we’ll have more on the new Nexus 5X throughout the rest of the week.